Vacuum apparatus for filling capsulelike receptacles with fluid



Sept. 25, 1951 E. P. DE cRAENE 2,569,410

VACUUM APPARATUS FOR FILLING CAPSULE-LIKE REcEPTAcLEs WITH FLUID Filedsept. 25, 194s W600/V PUMP Patented Sept. ?5,Y 1951 o UNITE]L STTES ENTOFFICE rAQUM' Een CAP- 'SUIJELI'KE EEPTACES'WITH- FLUID dnond Deraege,Westchester;` I-ll., assignor to Crane 00.-, hicago, Illa, acorporationof Application@ september 25, 194e',fseria1iNo. 51,213'

f 1' cii'. (ci. ic-iis) This invention relatesk toa novel vacuumapparatus for filling capsule-like receptacles with a liquid.

vIn order to obtain an appreciation of the background of this invention,.itshouldvbe understood thatV inthe manufacture oftemperature responsive units that areto be filled with a liquid, it is essential thatAthey belled' completely and therefore that all air spaces within theunit aree'limif nated, realizing. that the presence of air willcauseerratic functioning of the unit. Likewise] any air or' gas otherwiseabsorbed in the liquid" during the course of lling thecapsule will beconducive to inconsistent results and. errors.

Therefore, it is one of the more important objects of this invention toprovide the apparatus and method of filling temperature respsive unitssuch as the capsules, for example, described in patent applicationSerial Number 212 led January 2, 1948, now abandoned. In devices of thetype referred to it is, of course, important that these thermal unitsoperate with considerable accuracy and, at the same time, permit theirmanufacture and assembly with a minimum of expense and freedom fromtrouble.

It is another important object to provide an apparatus and method whichpositively eliminates air content simultaneously from the two sourcesabove referred to and yet, at the same time, to permit a larger numberof units to be lled than heretofore. Thus, the process lends itselfreadily to quantity production.

It should'be further understood that the thermal units above referred tocontain an actuating stem axially movable in response to internal Huidpressures behind a. snugly fitted diaphragm therewithin and are usefulin the same manner as described in the device per se shown in patentapplication Serial Number 790,638 led December 9, 1947, now Patent No.2,548,516, to actuate a switch, shaft or other mechanism by such axialmovement of the actuating stem, The diaphragm as illustrated ispreferably provided with a socket within which the stem I3 is snug-lyreceived.

As will hereinafter become apparent, it is desirable from a productionstandpoint to eliminate unnecessary adjustments previously caused by theair content normally accumulating within the thermal unit and also tohave the actuating stem protrude from the unit uniformly or at aconstant dimension on all units. It should be understood that unlessthis is controlled during the filling of the units, such stem projectionmay vary considerably.

It is; therefore, a' further object of this invention: tof provide anrapparatus in whichr the thermal. units are held in a fixture whichcontrols the over` all-stem dimension before placing the devices in the'vacuum chamber as hereinafter described ingreater detail.

Other` objects and advantageswill become more readily apparent uponproceeding with the specification read in light of the accompanyingdrawings,=in='which g jFig.- 1 is asectional assembly view of agenerallassembly of the novel apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a' plan sectional view of the device on the line-2 2 of Fig.vl.

Similar refer-ence numerals refer to similarpar-tsfthroughoutthefsever-alyviews.

4`l'1,efer ring now tofFigf; ha vacuum Vessel generally referred to asI, preferably consisting of upper and lower halves 2 and 3 respectively,bolted together by means of the bolts 4 or held together to form apressure-tight joint by any other suitable means, provides the chamber5in which a jig for holding receptacles to be filled, generally referredto as 6, is positioned resting upon the base 1 of the lower half portion3. The depth of the uid in which the filling jig is placed isrepresented by the dottedilines 8. The particular fluid used may be asilicone polymer fluid, the latter being odorless, inert and notinjurious to rubber or the like, and having a known and constant rate ofexpansion over a Wide temperature range, and a low vapor pressure.

The complete assembly, in addition to the lling jig, consists of theoutlet piping 9 for attachment to a vacuum pump (not shown) and providedwith a vacuum gage as indicated, the piping 9 being preferably held insealed relation to the container 2 by means of the packing I I.

The thermal units or receptacles are placed in the lling jig generallydesignated 6, the thermal units being separately mounted upon theapertured supporting portion I2 with the projecting stems I3 abuttingagainst the base frame I4. Each of the thermal units I5 is open as at Ito allow for the liquid in which they are placed to be received. Thelower supporting base frame or plate I4 and the upper supporting memberIl are maintained in assembled relation by means of the bolts I8 and thenuts I9. As indicated, the stove-bolt 29 retains the apertured member I2in xed relation to the plate 6.

While the members I4 and I1 are shown in substantially circular form, itshould, of course, be apparent that they may be of any suitable shape toconveniently and economically receive the thermal units or other vesselsto be iilled. A detailed construction of the thermal units orreceptacles has been omitted. It is deemed unnecessary because it ismore clearly described in detail in the pending patent applicationreferred to.

1n considering the operation of this device by means of the vacuum pump,as air is-,evacuated from the jar l, it is also evacuated from thethermal units thereby permitting the liquid to flow into the said unitsl5. It will also be apparet that at the same time anyY entrapped -air orgas in the liquid will be liberated. When the thermal units l5 are lled,the cover 2 of the vacuum jar into an upper portion of the saidreceptacles and vconcurrently liberateany entrapped air or gastherewithinjthe said plates being held together i to clamp a pluralityof receptacles therebetween,

is removed and the sealing 'screws and gaskets (not shown) but describedin connection with patent application, Serial Number 212 will bepositioned in fluid sealing relationjln' thegoperiings of the unitsbefore they are removed from the uid in the jar. Thus it will be clearthat the thermal units l5 are lled with a predetermined measured amountof silicone polymer fluid orv the like, and further than the specicconstruction of the jig or holding fixture base plate 6 cooperates withthe specific construction of the thermal unit lbeing lled to provide forsuch measured vacuum ll as hereinabove described.

The foregoing Operation will assure lling the units completely with theliquid free from any air or gas. v

It should, of course, be understood that the specific embodiment of theapparatus may be changed considerably from that shown and described andit is the desire therefore to be limited only by the scope of theappended claim.

I claim:

In an apparatus for filling With liquids free of air or gases suchreceptacles as thermal elements :the lower'platev supporting the axiallymovable projecting stem of the receptacle to be lled, apertured meansprovided Yon said lower plate to ,;at.least.partiallyj receive a lowerneck portion of the .said receptacle, the receptacle projecting stemextendingI within said apertured means beyond the lowermost neck portionof the said receptacle to bear against said lower plate.

Y EDMOND P. DE CRAENE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 325,131 Stevenson Aug. 25, 1885695,271 Besse et al Mar. 11, 1902 V1,345,347 Chaney July 6, 19202,047,260 Franklin July 14, 1936 2,047,273. Kopinski July 14, 19362,277,288 Berch Mar. 24, 1942 2,292,295 Royal Aug. 4, 1942 2,355,620Bower et al Aug. 15, 1944

